The presently disclosed subject matter relates to a lifesaving support apparatus which determines whether it is necessary or not to use an automatic external defibrillator (AED), and also to a lifesaving support system which includes at least the lifesaving support apparatus and an AED.
An AED is an apparatus which applies an electric shock to a patient from whom a fatal arrhythmia such as ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia is detected, thereby resuscitating the patient. In the case where the patient is unconscious and apneic, specifically, electrode pads of the AED are applied to the chest of the denuded patient. The AED analyzes an electrocardiogram which is acquired through the electrode pads, to detect the fatal arrhythmia (for example, see JP-A-2012-61361).
In the case where an ordinary person who is not a medical person is in front of a lying patient, although the person can bring an AED, but it is usual that the person hesitates to use the AED. Even though in a cardiopulmonary arrest state, particularly, a patient in agonal stage takes a characteristic breath or a gasping breath. Therefore, it is difficult to correctly determine that the patient is unconscious and apneic. As a result, the application of an electric shock may be sometimes delayed, and this is a cause for reduction of the lifesaving rate.
Unconscious patients include those due to a brain disorder, hypoglycemia, hemorrhagic shock, near drowning, carbon monoxide poisoning, and the like. Although it is not necessary to use an AED in such patients, but it is difficult for an ordinary person to correctly determine whether the use of an AED is necessary or not. Therefore, there is a case where the privacy of the patient is not sufficiently protected, such as that where the chest is unnecessarily denuded in public. Moreover, the necessity of denuding the chest is a cause of hesitation in using an AED.